- Jordan I of Capua
Jordan I ( _it. Giordano) (died 1091), count of
Aversa andprince of Capua from 1078 to his death, was the eldest son and successor of PrinceRichard I of Capua andFressenda , a daughter ofTancred of Hauteville and his second wife, also named Fressenda, and the nephew ofRobert Guiscard , duke of Apulia,Calabria , andSicily . He, according toWilliam of Apulia , "equalled in his virtues both the duke and his father." [ [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/history/weblearning/MedievalHistoryTextCentre/william%20ap%202.doc William of Apulia.] ]In 1078, while his father was besieging
Naples with Robert Guiscard, he and Robert, count ofLoritello , were ravaging theAbruzzi , then papal territory. He, his father, and the duke were all excommunicated, when, suddenly, his father fell ill, retired to Capua, reconciled with the church, and died. Jordan, fearing to rule under the ban of the church, called off the siege of Naples and went toRome to reconcile himself toPope Gregory VII and rectify his relations with the church, of which his father had been both servant and protector. It appears that he intended to take up the position of his father "vis-a-vis" thepapacy and to return to unfriendly relations with the duke of Apulia, for Gregory visited Capua a mere three months after Richard's death and Jordan, probably with papal prodding, began fomenting revolt in the Guiscard's lands. The revolt, the widely supported and well-organised, was ineffectual in really curbing Robert's influence and power.One of his chief advisor was the abbot of
Montecassino , Desiderius of Benevento, who mediated between the prince and theEmperor Henry IV on the latter's descent into Italy (1081). Jordan forsook his erstwhile papal ally in exchange for an imperial investiture. Though Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger marched against him, Roger was recalled to Sicily and the expedition fell apart.In 1085, on Robert's death, Jordan supported Bohemond, the elder son, over
Roger Borsa , the eldest bySichelgaita , who was his own sister-in-law, he having married Gaitelgrima, another daughter of PrinceGuaimar IV of Salerno . For the next three years, Bohemond held Apulia with the assistance of well-trained Capuan armies. In that same year, the pope died and theantipope Clement III continued to claim the papacy. In hopes of curbing the influence of Clement and united his interests with those of the papacy once again, he pressured theCollege of Cardinals to elect Desiderius of Montecassino as successor Gregory. At the same time, Roger Borsa freed the captured imperial prefect of Rome in opposition to the pretensions of Jordan and thePapal Curia , which had refused confirmation of Roger's archiepiscopal candidate forSalerno . The move backfired and Desiderius, under pressure from Jordan to accept, was elected pope as Victor III. With the aid of armies from Jordan and the CountessMatilda of Tuscany , Victor took theVatican Hill from Clement on1 July 1086 . The pope remained lukewarm to his new job until Jordan suggested that only through decisive action could the good fortune of his beloved abbey of Montecassino be sustained. This led to an important synod atBenevento (1087), where Clement was excommunicated,lay investiture outlawed, and war with theSaracen s ofAfrica declared.The remainder of Jordan's career was not notable and he died in November 1090 or 1091 in Piperna (near
Terracina ) and was buried in the monastery he had long supported,Montecassino , leaving a young son named Richard who succeeded him. His other sons, Robert and Jordan, would also succeed to the Capuan throne some day, and he left one unnamed daughter.References
*
William of Apulia . [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/history/weblearning/MedievalHistoryTextCentre/william%20ap%201.doc Books One] and [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/history/weblearning/MedievalHistoryTextCentre/william%20ap%202.doc "The Deeds of Robert Guiscard": Book Two.]
*Norwich, John Julius. "The Normans in the South, 1016–1130". London: Longmans, 1967.
*"Giordano I." "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani". Mario Caravale, ed. Rome: 2003.Notes
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